Objective Versus Subjective Effort in Schizophrenia.
digit span
mental effort
motivation
pupillometry
schizophrenia
task load
Journal
Frontiers in psychology
ISSN: 1664-1078
Titre abrégé: Front Psychol
Pays: Switzerland
ID NLM: 101550902
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
2020
2020
Historique:
received:
06
03
2020
accepted:
02
06
2020
entrez:
4
8
2020
pubmed:
4
8
2020
medline:
4
8
2020
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Performance on cognitive tasks is often impaired in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ), possibly resulting from either cognitive deficits (e.g., limited working memory capacity) or diminished mental effort or both. Investment of mental effort itself can be affected by cognitive resources, task load, and motivational factors and has thus proven difficult to measure. Pupil dilation during task performance has been proposed as an objective measure, but it remains unclear to what extent this converges with self-reports of perceived task demands, motivation, and invested effort. The current study tried to elucidate this question. A visual version of the digit span task was administered in a sample of 29 individuals with a diagnosis from the SCZ spectrum and 30 individuals without any psychiatric disorder. Pupil size was recorded during the task, whereas self-reported invested effort and task demand were measured afterward. No group difference was found for working memory capacity, but individuals with SCZ showed diminished trial-by-trial recall accuracy, showed reduced pupil dilation across all task load conditions, and reported higher perceived task demands. Results indicate reduced effort investment in patients with SCZ, but it remains unclear to what extent this alone could explain the lower recall performance. The lack of a direct link between objective and subjective measures of effort further suggests that both may assess different facets of effort. This has important implications for clinical and research settings that rely on the reliability of neuropsychological test results when assessing cognitive capacity in this patient group.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
OBJECTIVE
Performance on cognitive tasks is often impaired in individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ), possibly resulting from either cognitive deficits (e.g., limited working memory capacity) or diminished mental effort or both. Investment of mental effort itself can be affected by cognitive resources, task load, and motivational factors and has thus proven difficult to measure. Pupil dilation during task performance has been proposed as an objective measure, but it remains unclear to what extent this converges with self-reports of perceived task demands, motivation, and invested effort. The current study tried to elucidate this question.
METHODS
METHODS
A visual version of the digit span task was administered in a sample of 29 individuals with a diagnosis from the SCZ spectrum and 30 individuals without any psychiatric disorder. Pupil size was recorded during the task, whereas self-reported invested effort and task demand were measured afterward.
RESULTS
RESULTS
No group difference was found for working memory capacity, but individuals with SCZ showed diminished trial-by-trial recall accuracy, showed reduced pupil dilation across all task load conditions, and reported higher perceived task demands.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate reduced effort investment in patients with SCZ, but it remains unclear to what extent this alone could explain the lower recall performance. The lack of a direct link between objective and subjective measures of effort further suggests that both may assess different facets of effort. This has important implications for clinical and research settings that rely on the reliability of neuropsychological test results when assessing cognitive capacity in this patient group.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32742265
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01469
pmc: PMC7365134
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Pagination
1469Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2020 Kreis, Moritz and Pfuhl.
Références
Compr Psychiatry. 2018 Nov;87:153-160
pubmed: 30415197
Am J Psychiatry. 2004 Jan;161(1):116-24
pubmed: 14702259
J Abnorm Psychol. 1989 Nov;98(4):367-80
pubmed: 2574202
Psychon Bull Rev. 2018 Dec;25(6):2005-2015
pubmed: 29435963
Schizophr Res. 2008 Aug;103(1-3):218-28
pubmed: 18406578
Schizophr Bull. 1987;13(2):261-76
pubmed: 3616518
Schizophr Bull. 1984;10(2):160-203
pubmed: 6729409
Biol Psychiatry. 2016 Oct 15;80(8):581-8
pubmed: 26475673
Behav Res Methods. 2018 Feb;50(1):94-106
pubmed: 29330763
Compr Psychiatry. 1997 Nov-Dec;38(6):341-4
pubmed: 9406740
J Clin Psychiatry. 2003;64 Suppl 12:5-19
pubmed: 14640142
J Abnorm Psychol. 2014 May;123(2):387-97
pubmed: 24886012
Schizophr Bull. 2007 May;33(3):831-42
pubmed: 16956985
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2007 Apr;42(4):284-7
pubmed: 17334897
Psychophysiology. 2010 Jan 1;47(1):158-69
pubmed: 19761522
Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci. 2015 Mar;15(1):145-54
pubmed: 24957405
Acta Neurol Scand. 1995 May;91(5):335-45
pubmed: 7639062
J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59 Suppl 20:22-33;quiz 34-57
pubmed: 9881538
Annu Rev Neurosci. 2017 Jul 25;40:99-124
pubmed: 28375769
J Addict Res Ther. 2017;8(3):
pubmed: 29430333
Schizophr Bull. 2018 Oct 17;44(6):1217-1226
pubmed: 29140501
Schizophr Res. 2005 Oct 15;78(2-3):199-208
pubmed: 16154055
Schizophr Res. 2009 Sep;113(2-3):189-99
pubmed: 19628375
Biol Psychiatry. 2013 Jul 15;74(2):130-6
pubmed: 23394903
Psychol Bull. 2010 Jul;136(4):495-525
pubmed: 20565167
Expert Rev Neurother. 2017 Aug;17(8):839-846
pubmed: 28649892
Psychopathology. 1993;26(2):76-84
pubmed: 8321896
Front Hum Neurosci. 2009 Mar 30;3:4
pubmed: 19434242
Ergonomics. 1993 Sep;36(9):991-1005
pubmed: 8404841
Neuroscience. 2016 Oct 15;334:180-190
pubmed: 27531858
J Abnorm Psychol. 2016 May;125(4):528-536
pubmed: 26999282
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1992 Mar;49(3):246
pubmed: 1567279
Psychol Med. 2017 Nov;47(15):2602-2612
pubmed: 28485257
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1992 Dec;49(12):975-82
pubmed: 1449384
Biol Psychol. 2004 Apr;66(2):177-90
pubmed: 15041139
Schizophr Res. 2013 Oct;150(1):185-96
pubmed: 23911252
J Abnorm Psychol. 1997 Aug;106(3):458-67
pubmed: 9241947
Psychol Med. 2014 Oct;44(14):3017-24
pubmed: 25066636
Psychol Med. 2019 Oct 02;:1-11
pubmed: 31576787
Front Hum Neurosci. 2015 Sep 10;9:494
pubmed: 26441594
Psychiatry Res. 2001 Aug 5;103(1):69-78
pubmed: 11472791
Schizophr Bull. 2014 Nov;40(6):1328-37
pubmed: 24657876
Schizophr Res. 2006 Jul;85(1-3):280-7
pubmed: 16730429